Not Now

Ah, Total Dhamaal could be a rerun: plane crashes, tumbling, burning cars, rampaging lions...but a fickle public isn’t ready still for a ’90s renaissance. Even a dream cast of Ajay Devgan, Anil Kapoor, Johnny Lever (who didn’t laugh at his manic faces?) and the utt­erly unspoilt Madhuri couldn’t make them like the trailer. Strange, innit?

Sun’s Out

As if the twin tri­­um­phs in Australia were not enough, Virat has achi­eved that rare triple ICC honour: top player, plus tops in Tests and ODIs. Well, the man has earned his holiday, At the Rod Laver arena in Melb­ou­rne, he and Anu­shka met up with the emperor, Roger Fede­rer. Fedex, a keen follower of cricket and a Sachin fan, seems willing enough.

Rolling, Raving, Loving

Neymar, he of the fleet-footed despoiler of defences, leaden-footed artist of the contorted fall ’n-roll and the man who shoulders Brazilian hopes, has a new girl, model Mari Tavares. Our hesitant advice to Mari: Don’t fall afoul of him.

Electric Unkool Kit

Poor Janhvi Kapoor. Young ing­enues are at the mercy of their stylists, and when they mess up, the girls’ social media accounts bleed from hurt and negativity. An electric blue dress is the issue here: worn by Janhvi for a photoshoot, it’s apparently a rip-off of foreign brand Balmain’s fall collection. The true plagiariser is a Mum­bai fashion label. For shame!

Warmly, Yours

A flickering, sideways glance at the lateral section on display would have told you that Shubhra Aiyappa has been a model. Tamil and Kannada films were offered and grabbed. The gaze shifts, inevitably, towards Bollywood. Acting, she says wisely, is “not the kindest car­eer”, but off­ers “unmatched satis­faction”. We know what she means; we’re feeling like that now.

This Too Happened

Artificial Intelligence experts decided to boycott the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) for partnering with a defence manufacturer. They fear the tie-up would “accelerate the arms race to develop” automatic weapons on the lines of machines they called “killer bots”.

Black cape, leather footwear, eyepatch and a tiara—say what you will about Madonna’s outfit in the Eurovision in Israel. Or the fact that her Like A Prayer was woefully out of tune. An inn­ocent espousal of peace—two dancers in her troupe, dressed in Israeli and Palestinian flags, and walking arm in arm—has been castigated as an unwarranted pol­itical comment. But politics is life, the beating heart of art.

That hatchet-faced gen­ius entrepreneur, Jack Ma of Alibaba, had capitalistically exhorted his workers to follow the ‘996’ spirit (9 am to 9 pm, six days a week in office). As if to make up for this vulgar demand that would serve to fill his coffers, Ma propoun­ded the ‘669’ spirit (sex for six days, six times). The poor workers would possibly have hidden their embarrassment in Alibaba’s cave, but others have slammed Ma’s puerile (and ‘lewd’) pitch.

What can you say about the peculiar, almost atavistic hold that images of mothers with babies have on us? Things have not changed from ancient iconography—espe­cially when the subjects are as photogenic as Izhaan—wide-eyed and adorably trusting—and Sania, bursting with motherly pride, her Mona Lisa smile topping it all.

It was simply another awards ceremony which gave the rich and glamorous an occasion to parade their bling. But hark, a phalanx of kohl-lined eyes make us stop in our breezy tracks and take stock. Ranged from the left, the begowned ladies are Aditi Rao Hydari, Raveena, Shilpa and Sophie Choudry (who possibly has two phones). How did the selfie come out? An eyeful.